


A Lingering Memory

by CygnusTrash



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Past Lives, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Not Beta Read, Romantic Soulmates, Short Chapters, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2020-10-04 17:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20474828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CygnusTrash/pseuds/CygnusTrash
Summary: For more than twenty years Jihoon has never been able to find his soulmate. All his friends have found theirs, and no matter how much they insisted on him not giving up, Jihoon no longer cared about it."So what if I can't find my soulmate? Maybe I never had one."Searching for hundreds of years, not a single one seemed to remember him. The first life was real, yet after going through many more, Jeonghan started to think maybe it had been a fluke."What's the use of holding all this powers if I can't find the person I love?"「This is your last chance」A short love story.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Ain't even updated my other svt fics but my brain has been screaming jeonghoon at me, so I gotta deliver with something that won't take me too much time or stress.  
Basically, this will be a short story with short chapters (1k words) and although it may not seem like it at first, the plot won't be too deep, I swear everything will resolve kinda quickly  
And I'm just weak for soulmates, and since I already did a soulmate concept with junhan 《Purple Rose》 I gotta do it now with my other otp: jeonghoon

The dark path was washed by the moonlight, a reflection of the sky fell on the ground, creating a sea of stars. The cold autumn air drifted off, carrying the fallen leaves into the pond. A male figure stood in silence, the white light reflecting on long silver hair, and in the midst of darkness, a pair of cold glinting golden eyes stared at the far horizon. The fluttering of the leaves yet to fall, and a soft melody resonated in between the sound of the passing wind, the atmosphere was almost ethereal.

The long deep blue cloak fluttered with the wind, like a shadow of the man. A pair of black boots stepped into the sea of stars, creating ripples below his feet. Standing in the middle of the body of water with the moon right above, a white mist began to surround the figure.

Everything became a blur, like a mirage about to disappear.

* * *

In the middle of the night a sole person walked through the empty streets, carrying a carefree air, unbothered by the surroundings. A single hand played with a small crystal ball, passing it between his long slender fingers. Its insides changed constantly, from a galaxy with many colors, to a dark space with nothing but stars. A pair of golden eyes stared at the sky, covered in clouds with the moon barely visible.

"How am I supposed to find you?"

A low voice spoke, soft and cold, but with a hidden warmth, just like autumn.

* * *

Most of the building was enveloped in darkness, with only a few people still working at such late hours. It was nearly 3 AM. Most people had left around 1 AM though.

Inside a studio, a person continued working, focused entirely on the computer screen as the fingers moved from clicking the mouse, to typing on the keyboard. The room was nearly dark, only illuminated by some LED lights and few desk lamps.

The ringing on the mobile phone lying on the couch went ignored. It wasn't until the third time it started ringing, was it finally answered.

"Lee Jihoon! Just how much longer do you plan on staying cooped up there?"

A familiar voice started yelling from the other side of the line. Jihoon flinched at the loudness, pulling away from the phone until the other finally calmed down.

"Ah, hyung, I'm almost done with it," Jihoon responded, his voice groggy and tired. He took a sip from his coffee, frowning at the weird taste as it had gone cold.

"You need to go back home! You need to rest! No matter how much you spend locked up in there, you still can't just simply hide from life."

Jihoon sighed, both tired and annoyed by the words spoken. It wasn't the first time the other told him that.

"Choi Seungcheol, is that really what you think I'm doing? This is my job, I can't just put it away because I found out my soulmate existed hundreds of years ago," a pause, "Besides, it's not really that important to me whether I have a soulmate or not."

After hanging up on that call, Jihoon stared at the curling willow vine mark on his right wrist, then sighed and saved his progress.

Shutting down everything, he grabbed his bag, along with his phone, wallet and keys, and finally left the studio, closing the door behind him and locking up.

The janitor was surprised to see him leave, but quickly opened the door and bid him good-bye, wishing him a good night's rest.

* * *

Walking during the cold autumn night, Jihoon kept his hands inside the pockets of his jacket, hurrying a bit his steps to avoid catching a cold. The gray scarf covered half his face, and only a pair of sharp cat-like eyes could be seen, the small mole under his left eye suddenly becoming more visible, contrasting against his pale skin due to the cold.

The night sky was cloudy, not even allowing a view to the moon, only through the street lamps could people find their way.

The way to his apartment wasn't long, with only a twenty minute walk distance from his workplace, it saved him from spending on transport.

After a long night work, Jihoon reached the door to his apartment on the sixth floor, already wishing to drop himself on his bedー no, even the couch was fine, whichever he reached first. 

Pulling out his keys from his back pocket, the movement of his arms caused the sleeve to lift up a bit, revealing a golden mark contrasting against the pale skin of his wrist. However, he didn't give it much thought, the tiredness gaining on him.

Just as he was about to turn the key after inserting it in the doorknob, a low voice spoke from behind, freezing Jihoon in his place.

"It's you."

Like a string getting pulled until its breaking point, Jihoon couldn't move, focused completely on the sudden feeling inside his heart.

The door opened slightly, creaking for a bit before slowly stopping.

"Jihoon-ah, it's you."

The softness and calmness in the voice, the warmth layered in every spoken word, it felt too oddly familiar.

With the slowest movements, Jihoon began to turn around.

Eyes closed, because he didn't dare to give himself false illusions, only to end up disappointed. Jihoon didn't understand where these feelings were coming from, he was both scared and confused.

"Jihoon."

Hearing this person calling his name so familiarly, like it wasn't the first time he spoke it, Jihoon felt a shiver ran through his back. It wasn't fear, it was something much more deeper.

Finally opening his eyes, Jihoon looked up at a handsome young man taller than him, a pair of sharp golden eyes staring straight back at him.

Although at first the person exuded something of a cold and aloof aura, the moment he saw Jihoon looking at him, a gentle smile was drawn on his face, and a calming warmth grew inside those eyes.

That string that was pulling so hard, finally broke. Like the crack of thunder, waves of emotions poured into Jihoon, striking at his heart and mind.

"Hyung? Jeonghan hyung?" Jihoon whispered softly, the name slipping through his tongue so naturally, even surprising himself.

The young man's eyes widened, the previous smile turning into a huge one, as his golden eyes were glittering like stars in the dark sky. He started to laugh, a bright sound in the middle of the quiet night, Jihoon felt hundreds of butterflies fluttering inside of him, his cheeks reddening. The man's, Jeonghan's face was already so handsome, and with such a happy expression, thousands of lights surrounded his entire person, it was nearly impossible for Jihoon to take his sight away from him.

"You remember! You finally remember me!"

His voice was filled with excitement and immense happiness, yet amongst all the brightness, Jihoon could see a few tears dripping from those enchanting golden eyes.

With an unknown feeling in his heart, Jihoon wanted to step close and wipe those tears away. Just for once Jihoon wanted to be the one to wipe away his tears, to prove the other can also rely on him.

Jihoon gave a start, not knowing were those thoughts had popped up from.

It was his first time seeing this young man, and yet Jihoon already knew his name, and even felt weird feelings growing inside him.

Shaking, Jihoon dodged Jeonghan's hand reaching for his hair, quickly turning around and entered his apartment, locking the door behind him.

However, before he had turned around, Jihoon had looked up at the approaching hand, catching a small sight of a golden willow vine circling around Jeonghan's wrist. It first shocked Jihoon, but the more he looked at it, he realized it didn't just curled up on itself, but instead went up Jeonghan's arm, circling it until maybe his shoulder.

The mark was very similar to his, Jihoon looked at his own, the golden willow vine contrasting against his own skin. It couldn't be that he had just found his soulmate, right?

Shaking his head, Jihoon leaned his ear against the door, waiting to hear a knock or the other man's voice. Instead, the only sound that came through were steps getting away.

A tear ran down his face, the further the steps sounded, the more wrenching his heart felt. Jihoon clutched at his chest, looking at the floor in a daze, unable to stop the pouring tears.

"What?"

It was merely a mutter in the middle of the empty dark room, yet in the silence it sounded so loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy reading this
> 
> side note: I'm taking betas right now for both jeonghoon and junhan fics, DM me in case you want in
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/kingcygnus) ▪ [main tumblr](https://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) ▪ [writing blog (originals)](https://king-cygnus.tumblr.com) ▪ [kpop tumblr](https://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blessing... or curse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!!  
Is more relaxing and faster when I'm not trying to write 5K+ words chapters~

The sunlight piercing through the windows woke him up. Jihoon sat up and squinted his eyes, trying to remember if he had closed the curtains the day before. It was annoying having the sun waking him up, but at least it was still early. He could rest for a bit before going to work.

* * *

The city bushing with people, everyone is always in a hurry to get somewhere, yet only one person remained unbothered by the people's walking. His walking lazy, his gaze lost, and his hands hidden in the pockets of the brown coat.

After getting back to the apartment, he took his coat off and left it on the couch, revealing an arm with a golden willow vine circling around it all the way to his shoulder.

Letting himself fall on the couch, Jeonghan looked at his arm with the mark. All these lives, for every new one the vine went higher, until almost reaching his neck.

"They say soulmate marks are fate's blessing, yet this feels more like a curse," he sighed dropping his arm and staring at the ceiling, "If he leaves again…"

Touching his neck with one hand while the other played with a small crystal ball, Jeonghan thought about it. His mind kept replaying all previous lives, and they were always the same. Only their first life… 

"Could it have been a fluke?"

* * *

While on his way to work Jihoon kept thinking about last night's events. That person who had approached him, it couldn't be his soulmate, that was impossible.

Jihoon remembered that day he and Soonyoung accompanied Wonwoo to the university's library for some books for his thesis. Soonyoung had found it on the history section while they were waiting for Wonwoo to finish taking the books he needed, a random book with paintings from hundreds of years ago.

At first Jihoon hadn't cared about it, and instead he was looking at other books, searching for something that could interest him.

"Yah! Jihoon! Come check this out!" Soonyoung had called out to him, receiving numerous glares from the people around them due to his shouting.

"What?"

In one of the pages there were multiple portraits and full body paintings, all done by the same painter. A man who had enjoyed painting whatever beautiful and handsome person he encountered in his travels, whether they were nobles, scholars or commoners, and all of his works were extremely detailed, perfectly encapsulating the person's appearance.

But that wasn't why Soonyoung had called Jihoon over.

One of the paintings was of a very handsome young man, clothes like that from a civilian from the capital. With handsome sharp features, his eyes were enchanting, and a charming gentle smile adorned his face. One could so easily get distracted by the man’s attractiveness, yet all Jihoon could see was the very familiar willow vine mark enveloping the man’s right hand up to the fingers. He had looked at his own mark, and back at that painting, yet besides confusion and disbelief, Jihoon couldn’t feel anything else.

After Wonwoo saw the painting, he was also surprised. The three friends couldn’t come to any conclusions, because there was no way that was Jihoon’s soulmate, it was just a painting of a random person who lived hundreds of years ago, there wasn’t even a name attached to which it could signaled them to who the person in the painting was.

The more Jihoon thought about that day, along with the previous night, he couldn’t shake the idea that the man who had come to his apartment, and the one from the painting, were 80 to 90 points similar.

Too engrossed in his thoughts, along with the huge amount of people walking through the streets at such hours, Jihoon didn’t notice a handsome young man, dressed in a long brown coat, passing by.

_ Ba-dump _

_ Ba-dump _

Opening his eyes wide, Jihoon turned around with a start. However, all he could see was the bustle of the people around him.

No matter how hard he tried to look for it, he couldn’t find it. Gripping his chest, he could hear the fast beats of his heart, like a drum ringing in his ears, almost deafening.

Trying to ignore it, Jihoon continued walking, the building wasn’t that far.

* * *

Even after getting into the studio, and trying to focus on his music, his mind didn’t draw away from the idea of having lost something. Something important.

A strange emptiness began to invade him, drowning him in a bottomless ocean of grief. His heart felt about to burst, the ringing in his ears hadn’t stopped and he could feel an oncoming headache, and every time Jihoon closed his eyes in a vain attempt to make it all stop, he could only see a sea of stars.

Tired of it, Jihoon took off his headphones and grabbed his phone.

**To: Kwon Soonyoung**  
Head is hurting, bring me something

After sending that text, Jihoon dropped his phone back on the desk, and threw himself on the couch.

Although his intentions were to only close his eyes and rest for a bit to at least diminish the ringing and headache. But who would’ve thought, as soon as he closed his eyes, a deep sleep swept over him.

* * *

The red sky above them was like the fire in their hearts. The maple trees leaves fluttered around them, some falling on the starry pond creating ripples on the water. A pair of bright golden eyes reflected into deep ink black ones, it was as if an entire galaxy was being created in the previous darkness.

The gentle late afternoon air blew around them. A soft, clear melody floated with the wind in perfect harmony.

* * *

_Beep_

_ Beep _

_ Beep _

_ Beeeeeeeep _

Waking up with a start, Jihoon turned towards the door, frowning annoyed by the door bell's constant noise. He stood up, and walked over, rubbing his eyes with one hand while the other opened the door.

"Jihoon! You're alive!"

The loud chirpy voice from his friend rang in his head, causing Jihoon to flinch. However, at the same time he soon realized the previous deafening ringing had stopped. His heartbeat had calmed down and the headache had vanished.

"You're too loud," Jihoon glanced at the plastic bag on Soonyoung's hand, "Why so much?"

"Oh, this?" Soonyoung looked at the bag too and handed it to him grinning, "Wonwoo told me to bring you food since you probably hadn't eaten yet, that's maybe the cause of your headache, he said."

"Ah, as expected of him," Jihoon answered also in awe, and took the bag, "Tell him thanks from me."

"You should rest a bit more," Soonyoung spoke as he was about to get back to his desk, "You're maybe exhausted too."

Pausing in his steps, Jihoon smiled lightly, remembering yesterday's words from Seungcheol. They were all worrying for him.

"I just took a nap and I do feel better. I'll try to rest some more after I'm done with this project," Jihoon turned around and patted him on the shoulder, "Thanks."

After Soonyoung left, Jihoon went to sit in front of his computer, yet the opened file remained untouched. The food that had been brought over wasn't any different. The only thing in his hands keeping busy was coke can.

But all his mind could think of was that dream. It was short, but full of questions. The men who had stood there, surrounded by fallen leaves, were himself and the man from yesterday, Jeonghan.

* * *

The cold autumn air hit his face, bringing back memories from many lives ago. Jeonghan wanted to turn back and go to where _ he _ was, but feared that it could be only end up like all previous times.

Even if this life _ he _ remembered, that didn't mean they could just have their happy ending.

And yet, all Jeonghan could hear in his mind were those words from their first life.

_ "Together, not just now, but through the many next lives too." _

The willow vines that had once connected them… had they withered?

Unconsciously rubbing his neck, Jeonghan continued to walk forward, holding himself back from running back. They still had time, he could wait for Jihoon to calm down.

Peeking from beneath the rim of the sweater's neck, a golden willow vine moved upwards a few millimeters.

* * *

"This is your last chance."

A voice had spoken in the air.

Jeonghan stared at the stars and moon on the pond, the bright dots reflecting back on his face across his cheeks.

Playing with the crystal ball on his hand, Jeonghan didn't show any signs of acknowledging the words just spoken.

"Don't waste it."

"I know," he answered, his voice resolute. Yet the ripples on his eyes spoke otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I did write some exposition, I still tried to add some mystery to other aspects
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave some kudos, comments and bookmark/subscribe
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/kingcygnus) ▪ [main tumblr](https://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) ▪ [writing blog (originals)](https://king-cygnus.tumblr.com) ▪ [kpop tumblr](https://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> What did y'all think of new album? I loved it! Please support them however you can~


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time's running up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exposition!  
Still alive!! Just working on a very long project, that with luck I’ll have finished and published before end of the year
> 
> Still not beta read! :D

Even if it was difficult, Jihoon managed to do some progress in the song. He pulled down the headphones to his neck and then checked his phone, finding a few texts from friends, and put it back down. There weren't any urgent matters, and he was almost done with the songs he had been ordered. For the first time in weeks, Jihoon felt like he could relax for a bit.

However, now that there wasn't much to keep his mind busy with, all he could think about was that weird dream. Along with a certain gray haired young man. Remembering that dream, Jihoon could feel his cheeks reddening.

Quickly trying to brush it aside, Jihoon started to think back on their encounter and the guy's reaction. The moment Jihoon had spoken his name, he looked about ready to cry even with the smile on his face, with golden eyes glistening under the lights of the hallway.

Just getting reminded of that scene, a pang surged in his chest, along with an indescribable sadness and worry. There was something inside him, making him react to Jeonghan with emotions he knew he shouldn't be feeling.

The only explanation Jihoon could find for that, was that he really was his soulmate. But, did that mean that he could just accept him into his life like nothing? For all this time, since the moment he got his soul mark, Jihoon never really thought much about the issue. And even after all his friends had found theirs, Jihoon could only think that maybe his would just come later, he still had time.

And now, someone who seemed to be his soulmate had suddenly appeared with no warning or explanations whatsoever, and also apparently already knew him, even though Jihoon had never seen him in his life. Yet he felt that that wasn’t their first meeting.

Sighing in exhaustion, Jihoon looked down at his lap, dozens of questions passing through his mind with no answers. The emotions, the dreams, the sensations. All of them had felt like they weren’t his, yet at the same time like they were.

“Why? Why now?”

Jihoon stared at the bright screen in front of him, the melody’s file he had just worked glaring back at him, almost mocking.

He frowned, and as if by some unknown force, he put back the headphones and pressed play on it.

There wasn’t much of a reaction from him on the first five seconds, yet the further it went on, a sudden rush of emotions started to flow into him.

During this entire time he had worked on it, Jihoon hadn’t fully realized it, until now.

A soft clear melody, like the warm breeze passing over the flowing river, carrying the first autumn leaves fallen from the tall trees. And on the side of the river, the grand weeping willow tree’s vines fluttering with the wind, together creating an ethereal like harmony.

It wasn’t his first time hearing it, but not in the sense of “he’s been working too long on it, he has heard it hundreds of times”, rather in the “he’s heard the completed melody before”. Except that Jihoon couldn’t exactly tell when or where.

The instruments were different, obviously, but the melody was the same.

Once again, that dream from before came to mind again.

It couldn’t be. That was the first time he ever dreamt something like that.

* * *

All around the water pond various vines from the weeping willow began to submerge, a translucent golden glow covering them, their shine surpassing that from the stars that had reflected from the night sky. The moon could no longer be seen on the water, only an infinite darkness which only seemed to be disrupted by the vines.

* * *

Clutching the crystal ball in one hand, while the other which had been previously scrolling through his phone stopped, Jeonghan suddenly felt anxious. It was like something was squeezing at his heart, making him unable to think rationally.

Under the pressure of his hand, the crystal ball began to crack. A black string of smoke poured out of it, encircling his hand and slowly moving forward.

Suddenly the previous normal dark eyes turned into a bright gold, and the black smoke returned into the crystal ball, as well as the cracks started to slowly disappear.

“So that’s why this is our last chance,” Jeonghan winced, glancing at the crystal ball which had returned to normal, stars swimming in the dark space. “Didn’t expect them to go out of control.”

“So you thought taking the role of your sister would just grant you immense power with no future consequences?”

An airy voice spoke behind him, but he knew that even if he turned around, there would be no one there.

“Nope, I was just wondering why was it taking so long to finally realize it had taken the wrong host,” fiddling with the crystal ball, Jeonghan smirked, “Not so much of an all powerful and wise High Spirit after all.”

“You should be thankful to that human, he was your soulmate for a reason,” the voice sounded annoyed by his smug expression, which quickly changed into one of confusion, “With the energy of you two, you were able to keep it under control, chained and in a state of illusion.”

“It seems Jihoonie has helped me much more than he had already done,” he smiled helplessly, his eyes filled with reminiscence.

“But the more you stay away from that human, the more conscious it becomes, until it completely realizes you are the wrong host, and thus punishes you for deception.”

“Hmm,” Jeonghan didn’t sound very worried about his own situation, until a thought popped in his mind, “If that happens, will it also take it out on him?”

“Probably, as that human was also the reason it took it so long to realize the truth. There is also the chance that since that is a new body, it will not even notice him as long as he stays away from you the moment it completely awakens.”

“So if Jihoon remembers, and the soulmate bond is restored, it will be as before and fall back into an illusory state,” Jeonghan looked at the crystal ball, a colorful galaxy forming in it, “And if worse comes to worst, as long as I stay away from him it won’t even notice him, then he’ll be safe.”

“Are you willing to take that risk?” The voice sounded perplexed, beyond confusion as to how Jeonghan’s thoughts worked. It still couldn’t understand the emotions of humans, even after thousands of years, and spending hundreds of years with him.

“All I care about is being together with the one I love, and if at some point it becomes dangerous for him, then I’ll just keep away. He’ll eventually forget me again, so it’s fine,” he shrugged, palms up.

For a second, the voice considered in telling him something else. But after seeing Jeonghan no longer wanted to listen to it, it gave up on doing so.

* * *

The sun from the dawn of the day illuminated the horizon. A pair of bodies laid on the side of the river, staring at the red and orange sky. The growing cold breeze brushed against the grass, lifting some of the fallen leaves and dropping them on the water, creating small ripples.

One of the leaves ended up falling on a head of silver hair, a pair of golden eyes frowning at the leaf disturbing his rest, provoking a chuckle from the other one lying by his side. Grabbing the leaf from his hair, he sat up and put it on the other’s nose, muttering a soft “Cute”. Receiving a glare of annoyance in exchange, he only grinned and snickered, lying back down on the grass.

“You’re lucky I love you.”

“I know.”

Lifting the leaf with a pair of fingers, he looked at it for a bit and then pressed it slightly against his lips. Blowing lightly into it, a whistling sound began to flow out, creating a soft melody that mixed with the wind, barely audible, except for the one lying next to him.

* * *

After sleeping in on the studio, the next morning Jihoon woke up from the dream startled by the ringing from the doorbell, sitting up on the sofa and rubbing away the sleep from his eyes. The continuous ringing was growing to annoy him, clenching his fists in an attempt to hold himself back from hitting at whoever was doing that.

However, with just opening the door, all the words he had prepared changed into:

“Who the hell are you?”

“It seems humans only turned more rude with the passing of years,” the child in front of him spoke with annoyance, giving him a stinky eye. Not even mentioning the condescending tone.

“Who the hell are you?” Jihoon could only repeat the same question, way too surprised by the sudden appearance of this child. Who the hell let in a child? Whose child is this?

“I was just about to help you get back the memories from your past life, just to help you, Lee Jihoon and Yoon Jeonghan get back together, but you keep using that crude language with me,” the child glared at him.

“Wait, what did you just say?”

Jihoon pulled the child into the studio, immediately closing the soundproof door.

“Your past memories, I will help you get them back so we can quickly solve this issue,” the child sat on the couch with legs crossed and looking at Jihoon with a raised eyebrow.

“Who are you and what are you talking about? How do you know his name?”

“I have no name, some call me Life, others Fate,” shrugging, the child took out a crystal ball of the size of an eye, “And have you not had any weird dreams recently, like those which belonged to a previous life?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think about it~? Did you know I love adding fantasy elements to my stories~?  
Anyways, dunno when next chapter will come out, but hopefully won’t take a month to update, so please bear with me  
Please comment, leave some kudos, and subscribe/bookmark (not to sound desperate but I need validation)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/wenjeongs) ▪ [main tumblr](https://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) ▪ [cc](https://curiouscat.me/wenyoongs) ▪ [kpop tumblr](https://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps… the brat wasn’t lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic still lives, and so does my love for jeonghoon

The entire night had been painful, the vines slowly growing closer to his neck, the phantom sensation of hands about to strangle him startling him awake every time. Jeonghan reached for the familiar crystal, clutching it in his hands as a golden light seeped from between his fingers. The pain had ceased, yet he still laid wide awake, staring at the grey ceiling. The vague sound from the cars passing by felt nearly soothing in his ears, somewhat of a distraction from his drifting thoughts.

However, that was all for naught, as Jeonghan could clearly see the pond, the willow had nearly covered it entirely with its vines, he could no longer see the sky’s reflection, and the seeping dark liquid sliding towards the tree’s roots smelled almost rotten. It was always like this whenever he failed to restore their bonds, Jeonghan was no longer surprised as he watched the leaves withering, the wind taking them away for him to never see them again.

Tired, Jeonghan glanced at the window, his hand unconsciously reaching for the wrist enveloped in vines.

“It really is a tragic tale,” his lips formed a wry smile, self-mocking.

A minuscule crack appeared on the crystal ball, silent and barely noticeable, only thin dark strings leaking from it and floating away.

The child standing in front Jihoon kept talking about the soulmate bond, reincarnation, multiple lives, the importance of uniting the Host with their Guardian, and something about a High Spirit and a tradition, yet Jihoon hadn’t been listening to the kid, his eyes focused on the crystal ball floating above their hand. There was an odd sense of wariness inside him, something telling him to stay as far away from that as possible. Yet a stronger urge to protect that which was connected to it held him back.

It was all too confusing for Jihoon, and this child expected him to understand everything on one sitting as if they were talking about mere facts as obvious as the sky being blue. All Jihoon could do was stand there, unknowing of what to respond once the kid had finished speaking.

“So? Will you let me help you?”

The child smiled, appearing like they had all the knowledge of the world, and just by being here, present in front of Jihoon, they were being quite generous.

“It’s not really a request, though,” the child shrugged their shoulders, “I just feel quite tired seeing the same ending again and again.”

A mischievous glint flashed through their eyes.

“Of course at first it was entertaining, watching him fail to get his desired ending every single time, but even the best story, repeated enough times, becomes tiring and boring. So now, here I am, willing to help you two solve this centuries-long problem, and finally bring an end to this long suffering story.”

With nothing to say, Jihoon turned around and returned to his computer, headphones covering his ears from whatever bullshit that brat was talking about. As weird as his dreams may have been, and as weird as his encounter with that man named Jeonghan had been, Jihoon still wasn’t going to believe just some random kid.

“Hey,” the child walked to his side, “Hey.”

It went on like that for quite the long time, in Jihoon’s opinion, and even if he had the headphones on, for some reason he still couldn’t block that childish voice.

Then the small crystal ball was pushed in front of him, the swirling galaxy-like liquid inside of it completely distracting him. His eyes widened, a sudden threatening aura floated towards Jihoon, before pushing himself away from whatever that was. The child, clearly unimpressed by his reaction, held the little ball to their eye-level, a smug smirk drawing in their lips, mocking.

For just a second, Jihoon felt that that kid was dangerous, more than the thing inside the crystal ball.

Perhaps… the brat wasn’t lying.

“What was that?”

Jihoon finally mustered the courage to ask, his eyes never leaving that swirling void, lacking the galaxy-like colors he had seen just moments before. Just now, that thing had truly shown a huge bloodlust not even he could ignore. He seriously felt worried for his own life.

“Oh, this isn’t the real one,” they glanced back at him, “It’s kind of a reflection from the real thing, no matter what he always carries the “authentic” crystal.”

“Wha-- who?”

After hearing the entire story from the child, Jihoon decided to believe him for now. Although he still remained skeptical about the kid’s supposed identity.

He glanced at the crystal, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was really such a strong spirit residing inside it. Yet the threatening aura he had felt earlier was enough to assure him of such. It felt too real.

“Here,” the child handed him a necklace, a golden leaf hanging as a pendant.

“What’s this?”

“A seal, it’ll help you.”

Jihoon looked at the leaf, feeling as if this wasn’t the first time he held it in his hands.

“You should go look for him, at least talk things out,” the child gave him a piece of paper with a place and time written on it. “This is the place he usually goes to during his breaks, you’ll probably find him there.”

Taking the paper, Jihoon wasn’t completely sure of it. But those weird dreams, and the fact the other man had the same soul mark as him, maybe it was fine if to at least talk about it.

With a bit of resignation, Jihoon accepted to go find Jeonghan the next day. Just to understand whatever was going on.

The sound from the mug clinking against the desk had startled Jeonghan out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. He looked up at the man standing beside him, who had brought him the coffee, and then back at his computer screen. The cover design he had received an hour ago was still there. He groaned and chugged half of the mug’s content, ignoring the burning feeling on his throat, then immediately started typing on the keyboard.

“Shit, man, did you even sleep last night?”

The man went back to sit on the desk beside him, giving him one last glance before turning back to his own computer’s screen.

“Shut up Shua,” Jeonghan finished typing. “Send the approval back to the designing team, we’re going with this one.”

“It’s their lunch break too, there’s no one there,” Joshua sighed, pushing back his chair to directly look at him. “I’m just finishing drafting one of next month’s plans. Go take a break, you have worse eye bags than Seungcheol during deadlines period.”

Jeonghan took a look at the bracelet on his wrist, a miniaturized crystal ball hanging on it, calm as if nothing. It was actually unnerving, considering what had happened just now.

He gave an apologetic smile to Joshua, grabbed his phone and stood up. Behind him a familiar voice kept calling his name, still, he remained unfazed.

The surface of the water reflected the clear sky, sunlight shimmering over the ripples created by the wind. It was a relaxing view, just standing on the bridge and watching the lake running under it, especially after last night’s sight of the pond. Just for a while, it felt calm.

“Jeonghan?”

With a start, Jeonghan turned around, finding himself face to face with Jihoon.

“Uh… Jihoon, why are you here?”

“There’s something,” Jihoon looked at Jeonghan’s arms, the pulled up sleeves from the white shirt revealing the willow vine mark, “I wanna talk about.”

Jeonghan noticed where Jihoon was looking at and nodded. He stepped away from the bridge, his eyes directly meeting Jihoon’s.

“You may not believe me, though.” Jeonghan pointed at his mark, “Even if we have the same soul mark, it doesn’t mean you have to believe everything I say.”

“I know,” Jihoon nodded, his expression nonchalant, “but at least for now I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

A small playful smile drew on his face, a bit smug. Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, amused by it, but still accepted.

“Okay,” he sighed, “I’ll tell you everything I know, and then you can choose what to do with it.”

After all, if things really end turning for the worst, Jeonghan would rather not involve Jihoon in that case. So if Jihoon still decides to leave, it’d still be fine, Jeonghan told himself.

It would still hurt, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... there was some info... and they’re finally gonna talk... and I’m finally updating this...  
Being honest, none of this makes sense to me anymore, but at that point I was just "f— it, my house, my mess"  
I’m not dropping this fic, never planned to, just got more focused on another one, but because someone went and DM'd me on twt about this fic, it did kinda help me try to at least work on a new chapter. Tbh if DMs about fics updates don’t really bother me, it helps motivate me a bit
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading, please leave some kudos and comments  
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